![]() |
|---|
SUMMER SLOW DOWN
What a difference a week makes! The weather that last week could only be described as tropical has given way to a hint of the autumn to come. And my schedule, which prior to a week ago was totally booked, has opened up nicely. People are on vacation, traveling despite the cost of gasoline and ongoing threats of terrorism. It was good to get back to working in my 64 Noble Street district office this week. I used the time to catch up with meetings and constituent casework. My aide, Joe Wynn, is taking some time off and I'm looking forward to taking a few days off myself. The summer slow down is here. As I reported in an earlier column, before we adjourned our formal sessions, the House, Senate, and Governor passed legislation to spur on our economy during the dog days of August by granting a sales tax holiday weekend this Saturday and Sunday. Almost everything you buy this weekend will be free of the 5% state sales tax (go to www.Mass.Gov/DOR for all the rules). Soon, summer jobs will be ending, college students will be starting their fall semesters, and teachers and students will be getting ready to go back to school. To them, summer goes by so quickly. With the Legislature in session until July 31, I think so too. My garden has started bearing fruit, so to speak. I bought the plants from Rudy before Memorial Day and planted them the weekend after. Now my peppers and tomatoes are coming in fast. I have to rely on my parents for cucumbers and squash from their garden. Soon, it will be apple-picking season. I plan to get into the studio to tape a new cable show in the not too distant future. If you haven't had a chance to see my current one, it features Bob Brown and Chris Lindquist from the Westfield Athenaeum. The show is called "From the State House to Your House" and runs on Westfield's Community Cable channel 15 Wednesdays at 8:30 PM and Sundays at 4:30 PM. The Massachusetts agricultural fair season is beginning. The Westfield Fair is next weekend. The Cummington Fair begins August 24. The Three County Fair starts on the 31st. The Blandford Fair is Labor Day weekend and the Big E starts its run on September 15. Don't forget Westfield's Taste of the World, which begins August 24 and runs four days this year. On behalf of the Great and General Court of the Commonwealth, I'd like to extend my best wishes to Westfield's and Hampton Pond's own Granny Annie Wilmot for a very happy 108th birthday! She'll be celebrating this momentous occasion Sunday along with her many friends and family. As I mentioned last week, the Mass National Guard will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, August 15, from 6 to 9 PM at North Middle School. The topic will be the conversion from A-10 aircraft to F-15 aircraft at the 104th Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard base at Barnes airport. Attention members of the State Employees' Retirement System: The State Treasurer and the State Board of Retirement have announced the opening of a Springfield Regional office at 436 Dwight Street. Retirement counselors and representatives of the Mass Deferred Compensation "SMART Plan" will be available between the hours of 8:45 AM and 5 PM Monday through Friday. Their telephone number is 413-730-6135. Their website is www.mass.gov/treasury/srb.htm. Speaking of websites, my own website is www.donhumason.org. Check it out for news, press releases, my columns, and photos from the campaign trail and my job as Westfield's State Representative. Enjoy the slow days of summer. We'll be shoveling snow before we know it! Have a great week.
|
| This Site Designed and Maintained by: The Barre Group |